Hey all, I bought a used 2009 xstar, it had ~160hrs and was well maintained. The previous owner seemed to have partially installed the fly high system- so I have a few questions:

1. Re: the picture attached: one pump is facing down, the other two are facing up, which is the correct position? I believe the impeller should be facing down so water doesnt leak into the motor?

2. Only one of the pumps has the new green impeller, should I replace all them of at the same time?

3. I read a lot of people dont use the port/starboard stock ballast tanks (as they midship), why is this? I want extra weight regardless of the position, as long as the boat is balanced of course.

4. Based on the last question, would it be acceptable to plumb the additional front ballast bags as an overflow to the stock KGB tank (adjusting the valve to change the flow between stock/aftermarket is pretty annoying).[/list]

Welcome to the MasterCraft family. Nice looking boat! Hope you make many good memories with it.

1) There is no right or wrong way to mount the pumps . . . but there is a best way! That is, impeller down so that any leaks don't drip into the motor. Simple to just unscrew the pump, unscrew and rotate the pump head (or reverse the switch on the dash,) and remount.
2) Might as well replace the other impellers -- your flow rate will improve.
3) Maybe what you are meaning is that owners replace the hard tanks with bags that can be filled with more weight and also give more storage space when empty. I think most people use rear ballast (one side or the other or both) most of the time, depending on whether its boarding or surfing.
4) Yes. In fact, I'll be installing a integrated bow sac tomorrow which fills from the KGB. Got it from wakemakers.com

1) Agree with wheelerd. Down is better to prevent water from getting into your motor. Water shouldn't leak unless your lip seal or o-ring is bad though. The downside to pump down is that it makes changing out the impellers a little harder.
2) What color are the other two impellers? If they are black, definitely change them. If they are yellow and are not worn, I wouldn't change them. I have tested yellow vs green and there is no performance difference that I can find. Per Jabsco, the only difference is the color.
3)agree with wheelerd
4)agree with wheelerd